Jim Heath (aka The Rev): guitar, vocals

Undeniably, The Reverend Horton Heat, aka Jim Heath,
is the biggest, baddest, grittiest, greasiest, greatest rocker that ever piled
his hair up and pounded the drinks down. Without question, for all of his
outlandish antics, blistering stage performances and legendary musical prowess,
the one thing The Rev always gets asked about is the story behind his unusual
and rather clerical moniker. “Well, there used to be this guy who ran this place
in Deep Ellum, Texas who used to call me Horton- my last name is Heath,” says
The Rev. “Anyway, this guy hired me and right before the show he goes, ‘Your
stage name should be Reverend Horton Heat! Your music is like gospel’…and I
thought it was pretty ridiculous. So I’m up there playing and after the first
few songs, people are saying, ‘Yeah, Reverend!’ What’s really funny is that this
guy gave up the bar business, and actually became a preacher! Now he comes to
our shows and says, ‘Jim, you really should drop this whole Reverend thing.’”

It’s been an almost 20-year journey for Heath, whose country-flavored
punkabilly and onstage antics have brought him and his band a strikingly diverse
fan base and a devoted cult following, not to mention the respect of fellow
musicians worldwide. Revival, the band’s first release for Yep Roc Records, is a
return to Heath’s roots - musical and geographical.

The album was recorded at Last Beat Studio in the Deep Ellum area of Dallas,
just a block from where The Rev played his first gig and next door to where the
group currently rehearses. Along with eating a lot of world-class Mexican food
and BBQ, the band recorded the album’s 15 tracks with a minimum of overdubs,
bells and whistles. With tour manager/engineer Dave Allen at the board, they
wanted an album they could duplicate live.

“I got this lick called the ‘hurricane,’ and I call back on the hurricane on
this album for the sake of keeping things really rockin,’” he says. (The
“hurricane” is a trademark lick where The Rev plays lead and rhythm guitar
simultaneously to give the trio its full live sound.) He’s also got a top-secret
lick he’ll introduce on this disc. It’s so top secret that he won’t even divulge
the name, but listen up for it! Lyrically, the album’s themes run “from death to
silliness,” says The Rev, who lost his mother earlier this year. “I’d been going
through so much stuff, losing my mom so quickly, new baby, touring, getting back
and having to work,” he says of making the album. Revival finds the Rev dealing
with these issues and more: The track “Someone in Heaven” is written for his
mother, while “Indigo Friends” deals with a friend’s heroin addiction. But the
album’s themes aren’t only dark and/or serious: “Calling in Twisted” is about
calling in sick to work and “using the fake cough,” “Rumble Strip” is a truck
drivin’ song and “If it Ain’t got Rhythm” – “that’s a really fun one to play,”
says the Rev – is classic RHH. And “Party Mad” is pretty self-explanatory.

Reunited with legendary producer/engineer Ed Stasium, who mixed the album,
Revival is a 40-plus minute slab of rockabilly, blues, R&B that shows an
artist – and a band – in their prime. It’s true that the Reverend Horton Heat
have been called a great many things over the course of their storied career:
Perpetual Carriers Of The Rockabilly Flame, Genre-Shattering Shit-Starters,
Filthy Drunks, and The Most Electrifying Live Act In America (150 shows every
year can’t be wrong) among them.

“I think it’s cool we’ve lasted this long,” says The Rev. “People still come
out to see us play after all these years and all the shows and tours. It’s
amazing. I mean, I get to sing songs about cars I love, drinking and chasing
girls. Beats the hell out of the alternative.”

It's Martini Time! The new
G6120RHH Jim "Reverend Horton Heat" Heath model was designed and built to the
Reverend’s demanding specifications. "If you got it, this axe can handle it!"
Features include a unique combination of 1955 style Gretsch western motifs and
1958 pickups and control set-up. TV
Jones® Classic pickups, pinned Adjusto-matic bridge,
Sperzel® locking tuners, and clear Pickguard are standard equipment. Finished in
vintage maple stain nitrocellulose lacquer.